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AT&T BlackBerry Z10 'release' date rumors

Rumors have been floating around the internet the last couple of days that the BlackBerry Z10 will be available on AT&T come March 15th. We didn't post on that story yet because the odds are slim that will be the day you can go into a store and walk out with one in your hands.

While many folks around the world have been enjoying their shiny new BlackBerry Z10's for weeks now, the one big market that everyone is waiting for still is the good ol' U.S. of A. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have been vocal about the fact their releases will be happening between March and April, with Verizon being the latest. However, to break it down and say yes you can walk into a store on this specific day and pick up a BlackBerry Z10, well that information hasn't been unannounced yet. In fact, even pre-orders have yet to be announced by U.S. carriers. To date the big three have only rolled out simple sign up pages to let folks know they will be carrying the BlackBerry Z10 phone.

I'm not sold on the idea of consumers being able to walk into a corporate AT&T store or retailer and pick one up and start using it as of March 15th

Now, when it comes to AT&T specifically, information coming from N4BB is suggesting that AT&T will be releasing BlackBerry Z10 on March 15th. The information is supposedly coming from a conference call they sat in on with AT&T to their retail management and various other retailers such as Costco and Staples. But that's where it all gets a bit muddy. Will it be released? Will it be be available for preorder? Does that mean you'll be able to walk into a retail store and pick one up? There is a difference between releasing a device that consumers can walk into a store and pick up vs. just simply announcing a date of when they'll actually be able to do that or set up a preorder.

I have no doubt we'll hear something from AT&T soon about the Z10, and March 15th could definitely prove to be that date, but I'm not sold on the idea of consumers being able to walk into a corporate AT&T store or retailer and pick one up and start using it as of March 15th. So if you're reading this and are an AT&T customer waiting on the Z10, don't book that day off work just yet.

I don't see how this is "good" at all. Crackberry! Time to start being REAL with us. Yes, you can tell I'm frustrated. Well, it's because I have good reason to be! I LOVE BB. I have been on the ass end of a lot of bashing from my friends due to my BB loyalty. I left BB 2 years ago and went to Apple. Then I went back to BB because I hear great things about this "TORCH" phone, which was absolute crap, lets be real. Then I left and went to Android, Motorla Atrix 2 to be exact. I left Android and came back to BB because I hear about this "BB10" business that was awfully marketed and suffered countless delays. I hear about the Z10 way back in November from a buddy that works at Priceline. I went back to BB only to find out that it wouldn't even be available in the U.S until March or even May possibly. After being tired of shuffling back and forth and getting more and more bad news, I did a 180 and got a Windows phone 8. Now I'm ready to go back to BB, but we still don't have an official release date??? And now they are saying March 15th???? As in, the day after the Galaxy 4 releases??? Wow BB......Do you even care anymore? Who is in charge of their marketing? What are they thinking? At this rate, Windows is gonna mop the floor with BB. Aw man, I am such a fan too, but I feel like BB is just a wreck right now. I always pull for BB. But they can't get anything right at this point.

let me guess....."it was the carriers fault"
Why is it that no other top tier company has this problem? When Apple has an event, they have dates right alongside their device. It keeps people looking forward to something, not confused. Every other company never has this problem. But when BB sets up an event, they cant even tell you when it is going to be available and somehow this is the carriers fault? Onyl BB man, Only BB....smh

You mean like, say, Samsung? The Galaxy SIII was launched May 3 2012. You couldn't buy it in the US until June 21. The Galaxy SIV is being *LAUNCHED* on March 15. You will not be able to buy it in the US until sometime in May at the earliest.

This is the cost of doing business with the US carriers. Apple simply waits to release the phone when the carriers are ready. Other companies that are less US-centric have no qualms about giving it to the rest of the world first.

I think the Z10 *will* come quick to the US, but that's a little too soon still. Even think about carrier approval times... that latest OS update just hit. I'm sure that's the build that US carriers would be signing off on now to launch on the devices. The turn around time on that is a couple weeks minimum, plus the ramp up week. Plus AT&T usually doesn't put out new phones Fridays.

Yes it is! I thought I came to a different website. Then I realize "Holy crap they updated!" Very slick!

Anyway, I'm with T-mobile and was hearing the same rumors and started getting jealous since I had also heard that my carrier was trying to be first to release it. We'll see. Whatever the date, it couldn't come soon enough!

They could definitely release the Z10 with the old OS 10.0.9.x(i forget what version it actually was). And as soon as the user boots up they get the notification for the update. I'm hoping that all the rumors are true, just because I want everyone to experience the joy that is the Z10.

Hey Kevin, everybody knows that you are a BlackBerry insider no offense, but that's true. We all knew that you were playing with z10 way before the January 30th, as we all sure you are playing with q10. You also knew that Skype will be out for BB but not at launch. As a businessmen I understand your and Crackberry's position and why your team does those things, but you guys need to be honest to all of us, otherwise you slowly will loose your reader base. That's not what I want for sure.

They give us as much info as they can. If they told us everything they found out, then their "inside" sources would no longer inform them of the up and coming because they could get in trouble for leaking info to CrackBerry. Then we would get ZERO inside info. So be grateful for what you do get.

Just do what I did and pay off the balance of the upgrade fee (which was $180 when I upgraded to the Iphone 4s) and then paid the $140 upgrade fee. I didn't care to pay extra as I was willing to pay full price for the Z10. After the switch I couldn't be happier! I had the SG2 and the Iphone 4s and the Z10 blows the IOS/Android OS. This phone is so silky smooth and the typing experience is unbelievable.

Nice to see there are other 9800 owners like me waiting for an upgrade. At this point I am just pissed at the lack of information - but since I have no interest in another phone I will just rage quietly until they release it. ( I am worried about mind share for non-diehards like myself though - lots of new options coming out every week).

Wow! The site looks great Kevin and the cb crew! So classy and modern.

Well, it's good to hear some talk of dates by the US carriers. I was in a Best Buy Mobile here in NY state today and they didn't know anything either. I figured I'd try there since they deal with all the big carriers. They also just said to sign up on the carrier info pages and when you hear something you should be able to preorder. At least this guy knew what a "Z10" was, which is better than what I've come across up until now. I'm a current at&t customer but since I want a white z10 so it seems that I'll have to switch over to vzw. Oh, the things we do for fashion, lol.

bigbmc did say to buy unlocked. Since BionicKris said that he/she is on AT&T, the GSM comment applies. Verizon Wireless was only mentioned because BionicKris said that he/she would switch to it and bigbmc thought that VZW was expensive. bigbmc is suggesting that BionicKris shouldn't switch to get a white phone because a white phone will be possible on AT&T.

I just want my Z10 already. My 9700 is holding on for dear life and AT&T and every other American carrier is holding back for reasons unknown. (If i hear the excuse for carrier testing, they had PLENTY of time!) If Rogers and other carriers run the same network as AT&T, what is really the hold up? Well, the fact that people with unlocked Z10's are having data issues when connecting to AT&T but works with WiFi.

As you can see, I WANT MY Z10 but this teasing needs to stop. I'm not blaming Blackberry at all since it's out of their hands. Im pointing fingers at the American carriers! /endrant

Ohh, I still have plenty of time to ponder what to do. I'm on Sprint and I really want the Q10. So, so, many decisions to weigh on. Once I get to play with a Z10 I honestly don't know how much more patience I'll have for the Q10. But like I said, I currently still have time to ponder.

On another note...the 15th can be when they show commercials..let me pre-order..something! I just need something to HAPPEN in the US ..soon..no now! I shouldn't have to listen to rumors. There should be confirmed dates from carriers.

What would be the point in taking preorders now. The Canadian carries did so before the release date was announced (over a month in advance if I recall). If we're truly a "few short weeks" out ATT should just give a date, release it and be done with it. No more waiting game plz.

I am another one going from a 9800 to the Z 10 and am hoping that the 15th does indeed be the date we can buy. It seems like forever since they announced BB 10 phones will be coming. I was foolish and skipped the BB 7 phones believing that the BB 10 would arrive before a new AT& T 2 year contract would expire. So I missed out out the experience of BB 7. I have endured the laugh of my friends as I stay with the 9800 while waiting for the BB 10 to final arrive. It is people like me that are having difficulty waiting a "few more days or weeks". Unfortunately being retired, I can not afford the price of an unlocked phone from Rogers so I just have to bide my time.

The bigger question is will the US carriers truly support the launch, or will this be another instance of them telling BlackBerry they are supporting them but telling customers to buy sometthing else like we saw with BBOS 7 devices?

I do not believe ATT will be first. I am an ATT customer and they are just awful. They could careless about their customers needs when it comes to BB. They all will come out with it at the same time but ATT will not be first.

Im the glad that the comments I've been hearing have changed from "your still using a blackberry?" to "are you getting the new blackberry?". No one really ever asked about the 9930 back when it launched.

The information I have is T-Mobile business customers can order on the 11th. T-Mobile will be exclusive for 2 weeks with the Z-10.

I was at the Blackberry experience forum yesterday in Chicago. At&t didn't even bother to have a booth there. Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile were there in force. I'll also say the experience forum was about 50% attended (and this is downtown Chicago). I had 4 z10 demo staff around me trying to figure out how to copy and paste. Overall, though - the virtual keyboard on the z10 is pretty cool. The message blackberry is delivering is confusing - they're marketing it heavily to business, but emphasizing personal side to the phone. My issue - If I use the phone for personal and pleasure, I can't send pictures to my work contacts if I took them on the personal side (for instance) and having personal contacts in outlook is worthless because they'll only show up on the work side of the phone. So, I'll probably avoid turning on this split brain personality all together on the phones because I see it as causing more issues than it solves.

Kevin Michaluk, I first like to say, great job on a beautiful update on the CrackBerry page. You guys have truly outdone yourselves. I am ecstatic to see BB10 is finally making its way to the US. so far, what I've seen of the Z10 is spectacular and will only get better with updates. However, I'm a qwerty guy. Since my 1st BlackBerry, the Pearl, to the Curve and EVERY Bold series since, I've been hooked on their keyboards. So, that being said, why is it so hard to get any updates on the Q10? I'd love to see more of it.

I think you'll love the Z10, even as a qwerty fan. Definitely give it a try as soon as you can get your hands on it. Not sure why the Q10 news has been so quiet. I'm sure we'll start hearing more soon.

ok , why would "blackberry " tweet about a coast to coast launch in a few short weeks (and this was sent out approx march 1st ) if it wasnt really gonna be released to the public then ? it will be im sure but which carriers ? im not sure either , but i bet tmobile will be the first and i was just told by customer service that it would be release to public and businesses at the "same time" ..

Well, as a BB user of many years, the 9700 being my last one, I finally got sick and tired of waiting ("coming soon") for the new models and bought another phone (unlocked). I hope all those BB folks who are in it for the duration get the BB they want and love it.

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It is easy to focus on Kevin but our frustration should be toward all 3 carriers for not being more specific about each of their actions. As stated by others it seems that each carrier is not that primed about carrying Blackberry. Or they all had a deal with BB that they would be silent until an already pre-arranged agreed date when all would speak at the same time. Each day we have to wait is another day they each carrier can "encourage" customers to buy a different Z 10 and she still tried 3 times to get me to buy another phone and she did suggest a different BB phone. So the carriers are still selling phones so they can take their time releasing the Z 10

Hmmm, I just had the opposite experience w/VZW about 2 weeks ago. Had an issue w/my almost 2 yr old 9930. Since I pay monthly for the "total equipment" extended warranty, it was still covered. My contract has been up since last July, but I've been holding off for the Q10. Normally they try to convince me to upgrade rather than send a replacement. This time the rep told me that they're hearing rumors of first week of April for both?? and to try to hang in there. Told her of course I would (w/my warranty replacement of course!).

i cant wait any longer im in the Caribbean i want to buy the white unlock version around $800 someone told me wait a lil longer its going to get cheaper went it release in the USA is this true?? really want to buy it now

@cadoll..... is data roaming set to on? Some phones may think theyre roaming.....or try replacing your sim with the latest LTE one.....that might work as the new sims will have the new APN's.....data should work; whether on 2/3/4G or LTE.... depending on phone model.(had to replace my fido sim to get data to work on a fido bb z10.....before replacement, i had your problem). Hope this helps..... and kevin, great job on the mobile site =)

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